Napeague (, ) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) that roughly corresponds to the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

with the same name in the

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of East Hampton in Suffolk County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The CDP population was 200 at the 2010 census. Napeague is located on a very narrow, low-lying strip between the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the south and

Gardiners Bay Gardiners Bay is a small arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 10 mi (16 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide in the U.S. state of New York between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is bounded o ...

to the north that was flooded in the

Great Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

. It lies between

Napeague State Park Napeague State Park is a state park in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York. The largely undeveloped park stretches across the entire narrow width of the South Fork of Long Island from the Atlantic Ocean to Gardiners Bay and ...

on the west and

Hither Hills State Park Hither Hills State Park is a state park located on the eastern end of the South Fork of Long Island near the hamlet of Montauk, New York. History The land that was to become Hither Hills State Park was once slated for private development of a ...

on the east. Napeague derives its name from the

Montaukett = Montauketts = An indigenous Native American People. Name and Identifications The Montaukett ("Metoac" or Matouwac), currently more commonly known as Montauk. The meaning of the name ''Montauk'' is unknown. Native Americans living on Long ...

name for "land overflowed by the sea".

Landmark structures

The hamlet's three major landmarks are the Mackay Radio Tower, the Art Barge, and the Smith Meal Fish Factory.

Mackay Radio Tower

The Mackay Radio Tower is the last of two towers (originally high and apart) that were used to transmit international point-to-point radio communications starting in 1927. At the height of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the tower was used for responding to upwards of ten SOS calls a day from ships at sea. The tower had somebody on site 24 hours a day, but the actual transmissions were keyed from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. The towers toppled during the

Great 1938 Hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

. At 12:35 pm. on January 28, 1961, an

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

Flight 1502 (Flagship Oklahoma) with an engine on fire nosedived over the towers before crashing about off the Napeague coast, killing all six aboard. The plane had been on a training flight from

Idlewild Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

. An often repeated story says the plane clipped one of the towers, but ''The New York Times'' account of the crash says it just missed the towers. The Mackay towers were decommissioned in 1984, and its underlying land is now part of

. One of the towers was torn down. The remaining tower is used for communication purposes by the

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The State ...

. Its flashing white lights are visible throughout coastal areas of East Hampton.

The Art Barge

The Art Barge is the home of the Victor D'Amico Institute of Art.

Victor D'Amico Victor D'Amico (May 19, 1904 – April 1, 1987) was an American teaching artist and the founding Director of the Department of Education of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. D’Amico explored the essence of the art experience as spiritual invo ...

was Director of Education for the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

from 1937 until 1969. In 1955 the Department had begun art classes at Ashawagh Hall in

Springs, New York Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ...

. D'Amico, looking for a permanent home, worked with local baymen to beach a retired World War II barge at its current location just northeast of the Mackay Towers. A summer outpost of MoMA's Institute of Modern Art, it was for a time called the Kearsarge Art Center, for a Native American word meaning "place of heaven". A second story was added in 1961. It was re-chartered as the Napeague Institute of Art in 1973 and finally renamed the Victor D'Amico Institute of Art, after its founder, in 1981. However, the popular name of "Art Barge" stuck
The Art Barge
operates June through September. A complement to The Art Barge is the Mabel and Victor D'Amico Studio and Archive, the former home of Victor and his wife, the artist teacher Mabel Birckhead D'Amico, found across Napeague Harbor on the Lazy Point peninsula.

Smith Meal Fish Factory

The Smith Meal Fish Factory in Promised Land was a plant that processed

menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...

fish for

fish meal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisheri ...

. It was owned by Otis Smith and produced 20–30 million fish a year from June to October and had its own flag stop on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

for employees only. After a drop in the supply of menhaden, Smith closed the plant in 1969 along with plants at

Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delawar ...

, and Crab Island, New Jersey. The plants were consolidated at

Port Monmouth, New Jersey Port Monmouth is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.

. Next to the Smith meal plant is a private marine finfish hatchery, Multi Aquaculture Systems, founded in 1976 by Dr. Robert J. Valenti, and a small restaurant, the Sea Slug Lounge. The closed Smith Meal Fish Factory was sold to

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

, who transferred it to the State Parks Commission. Napeague State Park was the subject of an ongoing court battle about whether it should be used as a dock for the

Cross Sound Ferry Cross Sound Ferry is a passenger and road vehicle ferry service operating between New London, Connecticut and Orient on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. The service is privately owned and operated by Cross Sound Ferry Services, headqu ...

for a car ferry service to

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

. The park has been undeveloped since its transfer in 1986 and is home to a nesting colony of

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...

which will dictate its future use.

Water sports

Napeague Harbor is a well-known

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

destination on Long Island. With flat waters and steady wind, Napeague is used by beginners and advanced riders.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.12%, is water. At the end of the last ice age, Napeague was submerged under the sea. (At that time, Montauk was an island.) In the intervening several thousand years, ocean currents, or littoral drift, filled in this space with sand, giving rise to Napeague. The main settlement in Napeague is the small community of Lazy Point, also known as "Promised Land". It acquired this nickname, according to local lore, because of the

plant located there in years gone by, which "stunk to high heaven".

Demographics

Demographics of the CDP

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 200 people, 107 households, and 60 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 53.4 per square mile (20.6/km²). There were 762 housing units at an average density of 203.5/sq mi (78.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.5%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.5% Native American, and 1.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.0% of the population. There were 107 households, out of which 17.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.9% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.87 and the average family size was 2.45. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 15.0% under the age of 20, 1.0% from 20 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 37.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 20 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $93,750, and the median income for a family was $120,313. Males had a median income of $96,250 versus $32,024 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $63,869. No families and 2.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 11.8% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) East Hampton (town), New York Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)